Latest news with #dragstorytime
CTV News
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
‘It's a lifetime achievement': Drag storytime guardian leads London Pride Parade as Grand Marshal
Whenever there is a drag storytime in Southwestern Ontario, Sista Patricia Derouin and her band of 'Guardians' are likely there. 'When I heard that there was trouble at the drag story times and the right-wing people were attending them and harassing the drag queens, I thought, well, I gotta go,' said Derouin, 72, the creator of the Drag Storytime Guardians/Guardians in Action. That group has more than 1,000 members province-wide who protect drag performers, families and children from anti-LGBTQ+ hate. The group was formed after a confrontation at a children's event in Parkhill, Ont. where her Windsisters motorcycle club stepped in to fend off angry protestors. CTV London was there and captured the encounter. 072025 - London Pride Parade Sista Patricia Derouin (left) and her Windsisters motorcycle group form a human chain outside the Parkhill, Ont. Library protecting those entering Drag Story time from protestors on Apr. 29, 2023. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) 'It was a horrific, horrific show in Parkhill,' said Derouin. 'They attacked us verbally, they interfered and they tried to get into the story time. It is performers dressed up reading stories to children, and their obsession with that is unbelievable. And I, I still don't understand why people are so obsessed about us.' Her group of Guardians often surround the performers during story time when they are at their most vulnerable. 'I've dealt with a lot of hatred in my day, and one of the biggest and worst events I can remember was a story time in Ingersoll, Ontario, where the Guardians were there and they had their flags and the kids could come in peacefully despite the disgusting signs from the haters. It was pretty scary,' said drag performer Mrs. Chastity Cage. 'We were literally surrounded by haters within the library themselves, holding up signs all around us. The Guardians slipped in between and created this entire barrier around.' 072025 - London Pride Parade Sista Patricia Derouin (left) - the creator of the Drag Storytime Guardians - stands with drag performer Mrs. Chastity Cage prior to the serving as Grand Marshal of the 2025 London Pride Parade. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) For her activism, Derouin was recognized by the community as the Grand Marshal of the 2025 London Pride Parade. 'It's a lifetime achievement,' said Derouin. 'I've been a activist my entire life. My parents, my family were all in service. I retired from serving the homeless community. I'm a full-time queer activist and it was a job that was made for me.' 072025 - London Pride Parade Sista Patricia Derouin waves to the public while leading the 2025 London Pride Parade as Grand Marshal. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) A proud butch lesbian, Derouin encourages people to celebrate who you are every moment of every day. During Saturday's drag story time at Victoria Park, there were the usual few protestors, but she believes her group has made life a lot easier and safer in the past few years for members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. 'I don't back down and they (protestors) know that I do not step back,' said Derouin. 'We're here to support our community and I'm going to stand right in front of you and I'm not moving. They know that and it makes them a little bit nuts.'
CBC
21-05-2025
- CBC
'Your call for action turned on you,' says judge in rejecting appeal of convicted pastor
Social Sharing Calgary pastor Derek Reimer used a "dangerous and clumsy tool" when he incited his followers to harass a librarian ahead of a drag storytime reading event, a judge ruled in rejecting both the protester's conviction and sentence appeal. On Wednesday, Court of King's Bench Justice Shane Parker upheld Reimer's convictions for criminal harassment and bail breaches as well as his one-year conditional sentence order, which includes 24-hour house arrest followed by three years probation. In arguing his sentence appeal, Reimer wanted a reduced sentence, claiming he and his wife had been harassed in the wake of the media attention following his arrests and trials. Parker rejected the suggestion that should be given any weight when considering sentence. 'Invite the mob to act, you lose control' The judge pointed out that Reimer was the one who decided to "invite the public in," intending for them to "turn on the librarian." "The lesson here is once you invite the mob to act you lose control," said Parker. "Your call for action turned on you … this is why inciting the public to intimidate and harass is a dangerous and clumsy tool; once unleashed, you lose control." Reimer faced several sets of charges after he was arrested three times in five weeks in the spring of 2023, protesting Reading With Royalty events hosted at Calgary Public Library branches across the city. The events involved drag queens reading stories to children. The harassment Reimer and his supporters have called the drag queens "perverts" and described the events as "pervert grooming sessions." In December, Justice Karen Molle sentenced Reimer for harassing the Saddletown librarian on March 27, 2023, when he attended the library ahead of a Reading With Royalty event. Strapped with a GoPro camera, Reimer confronted the manager about the event and recorded the interaction, accusing her of "corrupting kids" and told her if she followed through on the planned reading event, he would return. He told her "we're going to make this public and your name's going to be out there.… I don't think you want that kind of attention." Reimer then posted the video to his followers on Facebook, included the woman's name, title, a phone number and gave details of the time and location of the library event. He encouraged followers to contact the woman and to "take action." 'His conduct was dangerous' The woman reported receiving a message that read "shame on you." In her testimony, the woman said the post caused her anxiety. She said she warned colleagues and locked down her social media accounts. In his appeal, defence lawyer Andrew MacKenzie argued that Reimer's conduct was not serious enough to cause fear in a reasonable person. Parker rejected this argument, finding that Reimer labelled the woman as a child abuser and provided her contact information, "citing the mob to take it from there." "His conduct was dangerous and would cause anyone to fear for their safety," said Parker. "This label has led to beatings and death." Reimer's conditional sentence order means he is permitted to serve his sentence at home. However, he was arrested on May 8 after showing up at court 90 minutes early to participate in a protest on the courthouse steps. Although he is allowed to attend court while on house arrest, the allegation is that he exploited the exemption by attending much earlier than required for the purpose of protesting. Last week, Reimer was denied bail following his arrest. He is back in court on Thursday for a hearing on a charge of breaching his conditional sentence order. In September 2024, a judge acquitted Reimer on charges of mischief and causing a disturbance connected to an incident at the Seton Library in February 2023. The Crown has appealed those acquittals.
